Does the Sheriff's Office respond to poachers??

Was wondering if the Sheriff's Offices in Florida will respond to calls of poachers. I have called the FWC many times on people I see poaching and they never show up. I see sheriff's boats most of the time on the water (Pinellas). If I call the sheriff next time will they come?

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The FWC will show up if one is in the area, but they are spread out very thin. I have called them in the past and they have showed up in Miami. In my experience, its easier to get them to respond if the poachers are land based or docked at a public ramp, since a vehicle can respond quicker and cheaper than a distant boat. This is also the reason I keep my photo and name off this forum, since I have "busted" several poachers in the past few years in Miami and even Flamingo.

Sometimes FWC is spread out to thin. What I do notice is most of them work during the day and maybe have one guy covering from Fort Lauderdale south to Key Largo and he's in a car. Samething with the MD sheriffs department. Those guys are on the water until 4:00 and thats it, unless it's regatta weekend in South Florida. Then they are out til about 8:00 to see all the topless action.

Thanks... I guess I will just give the SO a shot next time I see poachers. Pisses me off to call FWC and talk to them for 15 minutes then wait around for them and the poachers leave. I always make the call out of site of the violators and then fish while waiting for the cops. Most of the poachers I see are land based though.

FWC in martin county have this lady that answers the phone and argues with you about what you are reporting. Last time I told her to get off her butt quit trying to tell me what I saw. Heck lady I saw it i called you and then you argue with me for 15 minutes?????

I have had more bad experiences with calling FWC than positive ones. But, that should not stop you from trying. Hope you have better luck than me.

i called the hotline one evening when i saw a bowhunter stalking into some privately owned land that is definitely not anywhere near where someone should be hunting and the operator said she'd put me in touch with an FWC officer. 2 min later, 2 officers had called and talked to me, both on their way to where i saw the guy enter. we corresponded for the next couple hours, keeping me updated. never found out what exactly happened, but im sure he was caught since he really only had one way out

FWC in martin county have this lady that answers the phone and argues with you about what you are reporting. Last time I told her to get off her butt quit trying to tell me what I saw. Heck lady I saw it i called you and then you argue with me for 15 minutes?????

I have had more bad experiences with calling FWC than positive ones. But, that should not stop you from trying. Hope you have better luck than me.

Pretty much the same for me when I call them. Last time I called I had to dial 3 different numbers... 2 were the same dude! Nobody showed up anyways lol.

In Martin/St.Lucie/Okeechobee Co, we mostly use the SO for poachers, trespassers, etc..., if you call FWC they will want to talk to you for 15 minutes, get your information and then an officer might get there in the next 45 minutes or so, always fun when you holding someone at gunpoint. SO will be there in minutes, light blazing ready to work, I stopped called FWC because nothing ever got done, we had a guy conintuously poaching, everybody knew it, we had video, I gave them every bit of his info including his address, nothing ever happened.

In Martin/St.Lucie/Okeechobee Co, we mostly use the SO for poachers, trespassers, etc..., if you call FWC they will want to talk to you for 15 minutes, get your information and then an officer might get there in the next 45 minutes or so, always fun when you holding someone at gunpoint. SO will be there in minutes, light blazing ready to work, I stopped called FWC because nothing ever got done, we had a guy conintuously poaching, everybody knew it, we had video, I gave them every bit of his info including his address, nothing ever happened.

My experience exactly! However there are several new young FWC officers in our area and they are full of **** and vinegar! If you get one of them, they will follow thru.

Cannot answer for your county but was stopped by Collier Co.sheriff on the water.
Everything was fine so I asked him'Have never been stopped by deputy in the past,
why now?His reply"I have jurisdiction any place in Collier Co.including the water".

Thanks... I guess I will just give the SO a shot next time I see poachers. Pisses me off to call FWC and talk to them for 15 minutes then wait around for them and the poachers leave. I always make the call out of site of the violators and then fish while waiting for the cops. Most of the poachers I see are land based though.

I was a deputy game warden in Nj for 18 years. You wont always see us respond. We need evidence to make a case. Many poachers hide there illegal catch or deny ownership if lets say the fish are in a nearby bucket. We would respond and watch the poachers from a concealed location with binoculars and spotting scopes sometimes for hours until we could verify that they were using the bucket or where they were concealing the catch. Often thee fish were getting buried in the sand. Sometimes they would run every fish back to a ice chest hidden in the trunk of their vehicle. Often we would just let them keep poaching and wait for them back at their vehicle. If we were working a spot for the day that had many poachers we would never make the bust any where near the spot. We had cars hidden that would follow the vehicles as they left and stop them a good 1/2 mile away from the other fishermen so we wouldnt get "made"

FWC in martin county have this lady that answers the phone and argues with you about what you are reporting. Last time I told her to get off her butt quit trying to tell me what I saw. Heck lady I saw it i called you and then you argue with me for 15 minutes?????

I have had more bad experiences with calling FWC than positive ones. But, that should not stop you from trying. Hope you have better luck than me.

I know who you are talking about. I've called before, same lady wanted to argue, she didn't have the officers available to respond right away and said if they get another call in the future about the person I was reporting about then they will get out right away, so I hung up, called 911 and a deputy on the water and land came, they questioned the person and found 58 poached lobsters and 3 Goliath groupers speared in the boat... FWC called me 2 hours later, same lady who I called before(not knowing I just spoke to her) and wanted to get my statement, told her who I was and her tone quickly became more interested. Told her to ask the sheriff for my statement. Hour later a sheriff and Fwc came to my home to appologize and thank me for my call to them. The Fwc officer that came was a great guy and very professional.

If Fwc is not able to respond within 5-10 mins or you think they won't get there in time to catch them, call 911.

I know who you are talking about. I've called before, same lady wanted to argue, she didn't have the officers available to respond right away and said if they get another call in the future about the person I was reporting about then they will get out right away, so I hung up, called 911 and a deputy on the water and land came, they questioned the person and found 58 poached lobsters and 3 Goliath groupers speared in the boat... FWC called me 2 hours later, same lady who I called before(not knowing I just spoke to her) and wanted to get my statement, told her who I was and her tone quickly became more interested. Told her to ask the sheriff for my statement. Hour later a sheriff and Fwc came to my home to appologize and thank me for my call to them. The Fwc officer that came was a great guy and very professional.

If Fwc is not able to respond within 5-10 mins or you think they won't get there in time to catch them, call 911.

I can tell you that here in Charlotte County the Sheriff's Office Marine Unit will respond to fisheries violations.

Problem with the SO is they don’t know the law, they will usually try to get an FWC officer to also respond from what I have seen, they know about licenses but that is usually it. FWC is spread way too thin and has a hard time responding in a timely manner. Still you need to report it, if they get calls from a certain area often they will step up surveillance and next time might be there right away. I has happened for me.

Problem with the SO is they don’t know the law, they will usually try to get an FWC officer to also respond from what I have seen, they know about licenses but that is usually it. FWC is spread way too thin and has a hard time responding in a timely manner. Still you need to report it, if they get calls from a certain area often they will step up surveillance and next time might be there right away. I has happened for me.

I don't know about the S.O. where you live, but here in Charlotte they are trained in marine laws and even make netting violation busts.

Funny this forum is "Ask the LAW" and not one has responded here. Too busy catching poachers?

Special Agent Alan Coker, National Marine Fisheries Service, is the only LEO assigned to monitor this forum. He works FEDERAL violations and will respond to inquires regarding FEDERAL violations. The OP's question was regarding FWC and local SO's, not FEDERAL violations or response.